12 December 2013
Vizrt Ltd. today announced a deal worth USD 1.4 million for the implementation of broadcast graphics (BG) and media asset management (MAM) products with Thai Rath in Thailand. The deal is a continuation of a project by Thai Rath for a new TV channel.
The deal includes an enterprise MAM version of Viz One, Vizrt’s complete end-to-end solution for the creation, management and delivery of media assets. Vizrt will also deliver several Viz Engines, Vizrt’s real-time compositor, as well as Viz Virtual Studio for the broadcaster to expand its virtual set capabilities.
The Vizrt Social TV solution was purchased to give journalists a tool for moderating and distributing social media content for on-air use. Viz World is adding editorial capabilities that will allow the journalists in the newsroom to create local street maps for Thailand, as well as animated maps for the rest of the world.
Thai Rath is preparing to launch a TV channel in 2014 with a comprehensive Vizrt solution, designed for easy multiplatform distribution of content.
Martin Burkhalter, CEO of Vizrt, stated “Vizrt continues to be a strong partner for Thai Rath in Thailand. This new deal testifies to their trust in both Vizrt product lines: BG and MAM. It also gives testimony to the trust of Thai Rath in Vizrt’s Thailand-based sales and support team, to deliver the solutions to help them become a successful broadcaster.”
Thai Rath, is a Thai-language daily newspaper published in Bangkok and distributed throughout Thailand, with a distribution of more than 1 million copies per day. Founded in 1962, Thai Rath is the oldest and best selling newspaper in Thailand.
10 December 2013
To mark the U.N. observance of Human Rights Day on December 10, RFE/RL announces the launch of Lady Liberty, a webpage dedicated to women in journalism.
Lady Liberty recognizes the contributions of women journalists from RFE/RL as well as other media in the broadcaster’s target region, illuminating/highlighting/underscoring their reporting, the issues they confront, and the political, societal and cultural landscapes in which they work. It is a resource for and about them and a medium to promote their work.
In this first edition, Lady Liberty speaks with Masih Alinejad, an award-winning correspondent with Radio Farda, RFE/RL’s Persian Language Service, who uncovered the stories of 27 victims of the 2009 post-election crackdown in Iran; interviews Gulmeena Yosufzai, a young journalism fellow in Kabul with RFE/RL’s Afghan Service; reports on the cultural taboos confronting women journalists in Afghanistan; and remembers Monica Lovinescu, whose work for RFE/RL under Nicolai Ceausescu’s Romania was “a lifeline for those listeners behind the Iron Curtain.”
For news from all of RFE/RL’s broadcast regions, follow RFR/RL online and on Twitter and Facebook.
10 December 2013
Mezzo Live HD Asia will soon be available in the Asia-Pacific region for the first time, after a deal between Globecast, MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd (MEASAT), and Mezzo to deliver the channel via the MEASAT-3 satellite.
Mezzo Live HD Asia is a new around-the-clock TV channel for the Asia-Pacific region. Dedicated to classical music, jazz, and dance, the channel will broadcast some of the world’s most prestigious concerts, operas, jazz, and ballet. Broadcast in French, Mezzo Live HD Asia will be subtitled in 11 regional languages and adapted to the tastes of local markets in Asia to ensure it reaches the broadest audience across the region.
Soo Yew Weng, Senior Vice President of Sales of Globecast Asia, said, “Globecast prides itself on helping channels expand to new regions. To this end, we are happy to partner with Mezzo and MEASAT. For Mezzo to expand its presence and bring such high- quality content to the Asia-Pacific is great news indeed.”
“MEASAT is pleased to expand its partnership with Globecast with the agreement to distribute Mezzo Live HD Asia across the Asia-Pacific,” said Raj Malik, Senior Vice President, sales and marketing, MEASAT. “Mezzo Live HD Asia’s addition to the 91.5°E video neighborhood is a reflection of the growing popularity of HD content that is available over this region via our hotslot.”
The MEASAT 3/3a platform at 91.5°E covers 102 countries from Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. The platform currently leads HD channel distribution in Asia with 47 channels.
Globecast receives the signal for Mezzo Live HD Asia at its technical operations center in Paris. From there, the channel is sent via fibre to Globecast’s Hong Kong teleport for uplink onto the MEASAT-3 platform.
9 December 2013
The text and video content from the BBC Turkce website bbcturkce.com is now available to users of Turkey’s leading radio aggregator, Karnaval.com, thanks to a syndication agreement between BBC World Service and the Karnaval.com proprietor, Spectrum Medya.
Visitors to Karnaval.com will now see the most recent news and features from bbcturkce.com displayed on the News section of the website. The BBC Turkce videos are placed on the main page of Karnaval.com alongside news headlines and images from bbcturkce.com. Users of Karnaval.com will also see the BBC Turkce ticker with the main news stories from bbcturkce.com.
Frederick Durman, Head of Business Development – Europe and Latin America, BBC Global News, says: “This collaboration between BBC World Service and Spectrum Medya is part of BBC Turkce’s strategy to further boost digital presence in Turkey, reflecting both the boom in digital platforms Turkey is experiencing and the changing landscape in traditional media especially where news is concerned.”
BBC Turkce Editor, Murat Nisancioglu, adds: “We are thrilled that visitors to Karnaval.com will be invited to follow the world agenda with the BBC. We are looking forward to further extending our user base in Turkey’s growing digital market via this collaboration with Karnaval.com.”
CEO of Karnaval – Spectrum Medya, Ali A. Abhary, comments: “We are incredibly proud to work with one of the world’s most respected news organisations to bring BBC Turkce content to our users. Karnaval is quickly becoming a one-stop-shop for music, entertainment and news – with over 6.9 million monthly unique listeners across our properties. BBC Turkce provides our audiences with access to hard-hitting, international journalism of the highest calibre on domestic, international and lifestyle news topics.”
BBC Turkce is part of BBC World Service.
4 December 2013
Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I), the world’s leading provider of satellite services, today provided an update on its satellite capacity and other critical connectivities being used in a number of restoration initiatives in the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan.
Immediately after the disaster occurred, Intelsat began working with customers and partners to ensure that the necessary infrastructure and satellite capacity were in place to accelerate the restoration of vital communications for relief workers and businesses in the Philippines.
Leveraging its flexible satellite infrastructure, Intelsat repointed a Ku-band beam on the Intelsat 8 satellite to bring urgently needed capacity to the Philippines, in addition to providing capacity on other satellites already serving the region. Intelsat is also providing an uplink via the IntelsatOne℠ terrestrial network from the Kumsan, South Korea Teleport and a downlink in the Philippines. In total, three satellites are restoring connectivity and services to relief workers on the ground.
“With devastation of this magnitude, it is critical that humanitarian workers have the connectivity necessary to support their relief efforts,” said Stephen Spengler, President and Chief Commercial Officer, Intelsat. “Given the breadth and size of our satellite fleet, we were able to quickly mobilize and redirect capacity, demonstrating the ability of satellite-based solutions to provide rapid response communications. We are working hard to help our customers provide much needed aid and services to those communities deeply impacted by Typhoon Haiyan.”
Leveraging the depth and resources of Intelsat’s satellite infrastructure in the Asia Pacific region, the company:
•Delivered bandwidth support to the American Red Cross International Emergency Response unit’s operations in the Philippines. Intelsat provided Ku-band capacity via its Intelsat 8 satellite and partnered with KTSAT Co. Ltd., the KT affiliate specializing in satellite solutions, which donated its teleport services and IP bandwidth to support the IntelsatOneSMnetwork broadband solution.
•Donated C-band capacity on Intelsat 902 to provide Astrium, the world’s second largest space company, satellite connectivity for major global humanitarian agencies to conduct emergency rescue missions in the region affected by the typhoon.
•Worked closely with GATR Technologies® to support telecommunications teams dispatched by Cisco Systems and the non-profit Global Disaster Immediate Response Team (Global DIRT) in some of the hardest hit regions. GATR provided inflatable satellite terminals and support personnel while Intelsat donated bandwidth on the Intelsat 19 satellite, connecting back to the public network via the Intelsat Napa teleport.
Intelsat has a long history of contributing ongoing satellite connectivity to social and humanitarian causes around the world, including the Mindset Network in South Africa, the Children’s National Medical Center Telehealth Program in Morocco and Medical Missions for Children in Latin America and the Caribbean. Responding to natural disasters, Intelsat provided satellite connectivity for relief and rebuilding efforts in the wake of the earthquake in Haiti in 2010.
2 December 2013
The BBC will open a news bureau in Burma, also known as Myanmar, BBC Director of Global News Peter Horrocks announced today.
The announcement comes after the BBC, along with three other international broadcasters, received official permission to open a news bureau from the Myanmar Ministry of Information.
The BBC aims to open its bureau next year. It will also house reporters from the BBC Burmese service.
Peter Horrocks said: “Burma has long been a byword for media repression and censorship but within the last year there has been rapid and welcome change, with BBC global news services being allowed to broadcast trusted impartial news on radio, television and mobile. Opening a BBC bureau in Burma/Myanmar is another highly significant milestone and an encouraging sign that the country is moving towards media freedom.
“The BBC will continue to stand by its principles of impartial, balanced journalism, reporting events in Burma without fear or favour. The BBC’s charity BBC Media Action will continue its work to help train the next generation of Burmese journalists.”
Notes to editors:
BBC Burmese broadcasts for half an hour in the morning (at 06.30, repeated at 08.30 local time), and 45 minutes in the evening (at 20.15, repeated at 21.00). The programmes are presented from the London and Bangkok studios of the BBC. The radio programming is broadcast on shortwave and on PAS10 and Palapa satellite television channels and streamed online via bbcburmese.com. Mobile-phone users in Myanmar can receive two BBC Burmese audio news bulletins every day updated at 8am and 6.30pm local time. In addition to providing the latest news and current affairs, BBC Burmese offers its audiences a variety of programmes on education, sport, health, technology as well as weekly debates on topical issues. A weekly interactive programme gives listeners the opportunity to have their say. In addition to covering general news, trade and commerce, bbcburmese.com offers special clusters around major global and regional events.
BBC Burmese is part of BBC World Service – an international multimedia broadcaster which delivers a wide range of language and regional services on radio, TV, online and via wireless handheld devices. BBC World Service uses multiple platforms to reach its weekly audience of 192 million globally, including shortwave, AM, FM, digital satellite and cable channels. Its news sites include audio and video content and offer opportunities to join the global debate. BBC World Service offers its multilingual radio content to partner FM stations around the world and has numerous partnerships supplying content to news websites, mobile phones and other wireless handheld devices as well as TV channels. For more information, visit bbc.com/worldservice.
